Toy kdifice



NOV. 29, J L F R I TOY EDIFICE Filed Jan. 18, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l fizz/62725071 Nov; 29, 1932. FLANNERY 1,889,468

TOY EDIFICE Filed Jan. 18, 1932 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 29, 1932 UNITED STATES JOHN L. I'LLNNEBY, OF GBEENWICE, CONNECTICUT TOY EDII'ICE Application filed January 18, 1932. Serial No. 587,851.

This invention relates particularly to edifices for children, such as a doll house, stores, .garages, hangars, and electric train stations.

The primary object is to provlde a toy ed1- fice which W111 give to the child, looking through a room of the edifice and a window in a rear wall of the room, for example, the illusion of an outside scene, such as that of a landscape, a neighboring house, or the like.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention as applied to a two-story and attic doll house, but the invention, as suggested above, may be applied to various toy building-structures of portable character.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a doll house constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2, a plan sectional view taken as illustrated at line 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a

broken vertical sectional view showing the upper portion of the doll house, taken as indicated at line 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, a broken vertical sectional view, taken as indicated at line 4 of Fig. 2.

Describing the embodiment of the invention illustrated, A. designates a doll house having first-story rooms A and A, secondstory rooms A and A, and an attic room A; and B designates a gallery-structure dis posed back of the main structure and forming a small annex thereto, said gallery-structure being shown divided into a first-story compartment B, a second-story compartment B,

r and an attic-compartment B.

" The doll house may be of any suitable construction. In the form illustrated, it comprises a ground floor 1, a second-story floor 2, and a third-story floor 3; lateral walls 4 provided with windows 4"; partition walls. 5 separating the rooms of the first and second stories, these walls beingprovided with doors, or door-openings, 5'; and a rear wall 6 pro- Vided with Windows through which h of the main rooms are omitted. If desired,

teriors of the gallery-compartments may be viewed. T i

The floors 2 and 3 may be so constructed that their lower surfaces afiord ceilings for the rooms beneath them. The attic room A forms a part of the super-structure which is covered by the roof 7.

The attic room is shown provided with a ceiling 8. The main rooms which comprise the structure of the house proper may be provided with electric lights 9, which, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig, 2, are included in a suitable wiring circuit 9.

The allery-structure B preferably is of less width than the width of the house. It 9 may conveniently have a depth from front to rear of, say, 2 to 4 inches. It is shown as 8 having a rear wall comprising a central nonremovable panel 10 and removable panels 10 and 10. The gallery portion of the struc- 5 ture is also shown provided with lateral ver tical walls 10 which may also be removable, if desired. Screws 10 are shown securing the removable panels in position.

The compartments B, B and I3 afford t gallery-compartments. They preferably are equipped at their floors with slotted strips 11 adapted to hold pictures, or paintings 11. These pictures preferably depict outdoor scenes, such as landscapes, buildings, etc. The picture cards may beremoved at will and others may be substituted.

The picture-compartments are equipped with electric light sockets 12, containing elec tric light bulbs 12. These sockets are suitably wired in a wiring system 13 which may be also connected with the wiring circuit 9"- of the main rooms of the doll house. A switch 14 accessible from the exterior of the structure is provided for controlling the lighting. The sockets 12 and the lam bulbs mounted therein are concealed. That 1s, they are in such position back of the rear wall 6 of the main body of the doll house as to be out of the range of the eye of a person looking through the main rooms and through therear windows into the gallery-compartments.

In the illustration given, the front walls 8.

front walls maybe rovided, and may be eflpipped with suitab e doors and windows. e-v'a'rious windows may be suitably glazed, or maybeleft open. They may be draped, as desired.

When the dollhouse is employed as a play- 1 0 house, ordinarily miniature articles of furniture may be installed in the rooms, and dolls may be within the rooms.

The electric light sockets 12 are shown mounted on the floors of the gallery-compartments close to the front walls of the compartments and beneath the window-ledges. Thus, the lights 12" arein position to illuminate the pictures 11, so that the pictures may be viewed by reflected light when an observer stands in front of the doll house and looks through the main rooms and through the rear windows into the picture-compartments.

The effect is to give to an observer the illusion of outdoor scenes, viewed through windows of the doll house, and thus the doll house becomes much more realistic to the child, the views seen through the windows contributing greatly to the childs interest. These views may be changed from time to time, and thus may be a continual source of delight to the child.

The improved edifice may be as elaborate in structure and appointments as desired; or, it may be very simple and inexpensive and thus adapted to Widespread use among children.

If desired, the floors separating the picturecompartments from each other may be omitted, in which case the lamp sockets 12 may be attached, in hidden position, to the vertical wall forming the front wall of the compartments.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A toy-edifice comprising an open-front room having floor, ceiling, side-walls and rear wall, one of said walls having a window therein, a relatively narrow picturecompartment of small depth adjacent said room and viewable through said window, a picture in said compartment presented toward said window, and a concealed light in front of and serving to illuminate said picture.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, in which said picture compartment is disposed back of the rear wall of said room and in which said light is disposed back of said rear wall and out of range of the eye of an observer looking through said room and said window into said picture-compartment.

3. A toy-edifice comprising an open-front main building having side-walls, rear wall and floor, said rear wall having a window therein spaced above said floor, a picturecompartment back of said rear wall and viewable through said window by an observer looking through said room, and an electric socket mounted in the front ortion of said picture-compartment adapte to support a light bulb out of the range of the eye of the observer to illuminate a picture disposed in the rear portion of said compartment.

4. A toy-house structure having a plurality of open-front rooms disposed side by side. said rooms having floors, ceilings, side-walls and rear walls, said rear walls having windows simulating the Windows of a dwellinghouse, picture-compartments back of said rooms adapted to contain pictures viewable through said rooms and windows, and electric light circuits installed in said structure fitted with hidden electric light sockets mounted in said compartments and adapted to contain electric lamps serving to illuminate pictures when mounted in the rear portions of said compartments.

5. A toy edifice comprising a doll house having a plurality of open-front main rooms, certain of said rooms being in side by side relation, said rooms having their rear walls provided with windows; and a gallery-structure of less width and depth than the main structure and disposed back of the rear wall thereof, said gallery-structure having hidden lights in the front portion thereof adapted to illuminate pictures when mounted in the rear portion.

6. A toy edifice comprising a main room having an open-front and a rear wall provided With a window, a relatively narrow picture-compartment back of said rear wall provided with a holder adapted to serve as a mounting for picture-cards, and concealed means in the front portion of the picturecompartment for illuminating a picture-card supported in said mounting.

JOHN L. FLANNERY. 

